The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook

From the star chef, founder, and co-owner of the wildly popular restaurant Mission Chinese Food, comes a riotous, unconventional cookbook packed with inventive recipes that embody his signature mash-up of “Chinese” food and American classics.

Born out of a food truck that roamed the late night streets of San Francisco’s Mission District, Mission Chinese Food started life as a pop-up, a rough-and-tumble joint that served radically reimagined “Chinese food” inside an old Americanized Chinese restaurant after hours. The incredible resourcefulness and unbridled inventiveness of Danny Bowien’s dishes have hungry diners queuing up in both San Francisco and New York City, waiting hours to enjoy delights such as Sizzling Cumin Lamb Breast and Kung Pao Pastrami.

In The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook, this young culinary star chronicles his unconventional and meteoric rise in a “cookbook in conversations” that combines raucous storytelling with delicious recipes. In a series of roundtable discussions with essential crew members he brings to life such highlights as the development and opening of the restaurant, an ill-fated trip to China, and the restaurant’s expansion to New York’s Lower East Side. These lively dialogues are accompanied by beautiful color photographs and mouthwatering recipes—from schmaltz fried rice to hot-and-sour soup dumplings to a “Chinese chicken salad” made with escarole and tea-smoked chicken.

Creative, addictive, and surprisingly simple, and borrowing from across the culinary spectrum, The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook‘s recipes will delight Bowein’s fans and inspire home-cooks of all levels to rethink what’s possible in the kitchen, offering a passport to a wholly unique dining experience.

Danny Bowien is the chef and cofounder of three restaurants: Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco and New York and Mission Cantina in New York. In 2008 he improbably won the Pesto World Championship in Genoa, Italy, and in 2013 the James Beard Foundation named him Rising Star Chef of the Year. He was born in Korea, raised in Oklahoma, and now lives in New York with his wife, Youngmi, and their son, Mino.

“Bowien dares to go far beyond the recipes to reveal his own mind and spirit — the mercurial and creative force behind it all — making for an immersive and personal read… His candid writing serves as inspiration for peers and a true page-turner for his many fans.” — Eater

“The young culinary star chronicles his unconventional rise in a “cookbook in conversations” that combines raucous storytelling with his addictive – and often surprisingly simple – recipes.” — Food Republic

“To hear Bowien in his own words is a treat, and his debut cookbook is not to be missed. Like Gabrielle Hamilton’s Prune, this will thrill foodies and aspiring chefs.” — Library Journal